Joel and Ellie hide from a "hunter", marauders that prey on other survivors.

The Last of Us
is what happens when the Uncharted series
mixes with Resident Evil 4.
Like Uncharted it
combines polished gameplay with a cinematic feel that makes it as
interesting to just sit and watch as it is to play. Like RE4
it's a 3rd
person survival horror (even a similar camera angle) where you have
to spend a large chunk of time escorting another character. Unlike
Ashley in RE4, however,
Ellie isn't useless and annoying. Ashley shouts “Leon!” because
she needs you to help her, but when Ellie screams “Joel!” it's
because she's coming to help you. She saved my bacon a few times.

The Last of Us
really excels in story. I don't play as many games as I once did.
I've neither the time nor the money. But as a writer they interest me
as a medium for storytelling. Which The Last of Us knocks
out of the effing park. The story opens on the night of a mysterious
zombie-like outbreak which we see through the eyes of Sarah (a girl
around 13 years old) and her father Joel, but quickly flashes 20
years later. Joel has been working as a smuggler, a series of
circumstances forces him to escort a 14 year old girl name Ellie who
is looking for a group called “The Fireflies.” The game follows
them through a year as they trek cross country trying to find the
mysterious organization. The story is very episodic, which is how
it's intended to be, and divided up into seasons (Summer, Fall,
Winter, Spring). However, where it really hits the mark is the bond
that develops between the characters and making them feel very real.
After a few hours playing I would do anything for that little girl.
Which is a good thing, because I had to. The game is packed with
emotional moments. When the characters are separated there is a sense
of anxiety that had me up until 3am until the characters were
reunited. The top notch voice acting helps sell the story, and
cinemas use the same motion capture acting as Uncharted.
I've said this about movies and I've said it about books, but I
really can't think of a time I've said it about a game but... have
some tissues handy. If you don't get misty in those opening minutes I
might have to question the existence of your soul. It's brutal.

Gameplay
wise it shines as well. Unlike Uncharted
it's much more stealth based. Much like Dead Space
it's very stingy about ammunition. Every single shot needs to count,
and guns should be used sparingly, since they just draw unwanted
attention. I'd get pissed every time I missed a shot because I'd
searched a building for five minutes to find that bullet. It's much
more efficient to sneak up and strangle or simply use a brick as a
melee weapon. If I could have done one thing different I would have
had them space out the checkpoints more. They're very close together,
and sometimes it robs you of a sense of tension. But other times I
was glad for it, so it hardly registers as a proper complaint.

It's
a must for PS3 owners and, arguably, a reason to buy one even at the
end of the system's life. The Last of Us is
easily one of this generation's best games and makes a helluva swan
song for the console.